Panorama X, Kardia Mobile, and User Groups

November 18, 2017, 9:30 a.m., George Mason University

The slides include the discount code for Panorama X; this expires at the end of November.

Washington Apple Pi will return to its roots in November, with questions, answers, three demos, and an overview of how microcomputer user groups have evolved over the past four decades. We will be meeting one building over from our usual spot, in Exploratory Hall, Room L003, on the George Mason University campus. See details below.

First demo: Radio Silence

Radio Silence is a highly visual, easy to use firewall and activity monitor. With it, you can see in real time the network connections your Mac makes when you use various programs, and even when you aren't aware you are making connections. It is priced at $9, and for that price, you can run it on all the computers in your home. Not as powerful as Little Snitch, but far easier to use and less prone to error.

Second demo: Kardia Mobile

Changing gears, Kardia Mobile is a personal EKG (electrocardiogram) device that works with your iPhone. The physical component attaches to the back of an iPhone, allowing you to take an EKG in 30 seconds from anywhere.

Third demo: Panorama X

Panorama X (Panorama 10) is the latest version of a RAM-based database first introduced on the Mac in August 1984 as OverVue. Provue, the developer, is the second oldest commercial software developer for the Mac (second only to Microsoft). Panorama X has been under development for six years, and the result is a 64-bit database of startling speed and flexibility.

User Groups review

Blending the three demos together will be a history of personal computer user groups from 1977 to 2017, covering user groups in California, Washington State, Japan, and Maryland-DC-Virginia. Over the years, user groups have changed, but the underlying spark has always been the same: how do you do something new and different with the technology?

We will also have our famed Question and Answer session, with famed (!) Questions, and possibly less famed Answers.

The General Meeting will be one building over from our usual location. Instead of Enterprise Hall, it will be in Exploratory Hall, Room L003, on the George Mason University campus in Fairfax VA, #17 on the map below.

Enterprise Hall, our normal meeting place, is #16. Exploratory Hall is #17. Click on the map for a much larger version of the George Mason University campus map.

Important Parking Information: Two Options, Paid and Free

The Shenandoah Parking Garage (formerly the Sandy Creek Parking Garage because it is located on Sandy Creek) is fee-based facility. It is more
convenient and closer to the meeting location. The Pi will subsidize the
facility's parking fee by providing vouchers for donation request of $4.00.

If using the parking garage, park in Visitor's area; i.e., the lowest level.
Take the elevator to the third floor (Campus Level), and exit along the sky
bridge.

After the meeting, exit the garage using the exits marked
for Validated Tickets. Your parking ticket goes in first. Then the validation
ticket goes in next. If you have any problems, there is a speaker box for
calling the parking lot attendant at the checkout point.

Free parking in Lot A

Park as close to Mattaponi River Lane as possible, then walk north along
that road toward the main campus buildings. The sidewalk route takes you
directly to the side of Enterprise Hall, on your left. The meeting
room is located on the second floor, accessible via
outside stairs or via an elevator on your right as soon as you enter the
building through the doors behind the outside stairs. We will endeavor to
have signs posted to help guide you to the right location. It is at least a
five-minute walk from Lot A and up a slight incline. We will be using a golf
cart along the route, to offer rides to those who want or need a lift.

Handicapped Parking: There are three handicap parking spaces next to Enterprise
Hall that can be used by members, on a first come first served basis. Have
your Handicap Sticker showing on the dashboard or on the
rear-view mirror.